Automatic plate-changing mechanism.



Patented June 20, 1916F 5 SHVE'ETSAHEET I T'. J. GWW` AUTOMATIC 'PLATE CHANGNGMECHANIS'A. APPLICATION FILEDMAY19|Y913` RENEWED NOV. 1,187f77-,

M www. HMH...

T. J. OWEN. K .AuoMAnc PLATE cumulus MECHANISM'. APPLIcATmM msn my isflsua. `nwfwfn'nov. is. me.

y Pafm .www 19m.

' S-SHEEY 2.

mmym.

l! ll lllllllhl'jfi'vIIIIIllll'lllllllllllillll IILIHIIIIIIIIIIH w. QQ

- www www l @Kw QM I. 1. OWEN.

l 1 87,776. Patented June 20, 1916.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

T. l. OWEN.l

* AUTOMATIC PLATE CHANGING MECHNTSM. APPLICATION msn MAY19, 1913. REN'wEn Nov. 15,1915.

Patented June.

' 5 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

IIITIIIIIIILI www( . aLl/qa Y T. LOWEN. l' AUTOMATIC PLATE CHANGING MECHANISM. APPLICATION FILED MAY I?. 1913- RENEWEIDNOV. i5, l9l5. 1,187,776. P atenfedme 20,1916.

5 SHEETS-suine..

, f @um y# spaces from which plates are supplied for ,right handinagazine; (2) thewhole body of plates in the said receiving compartment 11. is moved backward to remove the returned plate from the front passageway, 11'; (3) the rearniost plate in compartment 11 is transferred through the passageway' ifi' into the delivery compartment 12'; (4) the whole body of plates of said compartment 12 is moved forward to bring the, forwardmost plate into the front passageway 14'; (5) the last said plate is moved through the front passage-way 14 to disL play position, in plate guide 17, returning the previously displayed plate back into the receiving compartment 11 of the left hand magazine. Obviously, now, when the mechanisms of the left hand magazine 10 repeat the sequence of actions thus described with respect. to the right hand magazine, another plate from the left hand delivery compartment 1i.) is presented for display; and so on, throughout an endless series of operations.

The instrunientalities which I have shown for effecting the plate movement are three in kind: a double slide-carrier for carrying plates from the delivery compartments to the display space, single slide-carriers for transferring plates from the receivingcompartments to the delivery compartments, and screw conveyors for moving the plate-packs within the several compartments.

A double slide or plate carrier .20 op `erates in conjunction with the front passage ways 14, 11' and guide way 17, alternately to move plates fioni the respective delivery compartments 12 and 12 to the dis play spa'ce." This double slide-carrier may be regarded as occupying three units of.

length of the machine and at its extremities it has plate-engaging lips 21 and 21 for moving plates in said lengthwise passage ways 14 and 14. Its range of reciprocation may be regarded as two units of length of the machine, so that as one lip, say 21, carries a plate from compartment 12 to'the exposure space 1G, the other lip, 21', may move from the position shown in Fig. 1 to the remote end of delivery compartment 1.2.

For transferring plates within each magazine from the receiving compartment 11 to Hw Aalivm'v nomnarfment 12. I nreferablv employ a single slide carrier 2 3, having a single lip 24 at its end which is toward the receiving compartment. This slide carrier, working through a range approximately equal to one unit of length of the. machine, functions to transfer plates one at a time through the rear passage-way I15 from the receiving compartment to the delivery coinpart-ment. l

As a suitable means for conveying plates ,iatwise, 'forward ineachdelivery compartment and rearward in each receivingcoinpartment, I provide screw conveyers, theI conveyer for cach compartment preferably con sisting ofthree screws, two at the. bottoni and one at the top. Thescrews (Fig. 3) inthe delivery compartment 12 work to feed tpe plates therein forward; the screws 2G in tie receiving compartment work to feed the plates therein backward. y

llhen the machine is to be operated to display the maximum number of plates that it is capable of handling, the conveyers for all four magazine compartments are loaded with plates to the full depth of their partition walls, 13 and 13', and one additional plate for each magazinelt) and 10' is provided. As shown in Fig. 1, the added plate l", for magazine 10' is displayed in the guideway 1T bridging the display space 1G; and the additional plate l for the magazine 10 is lodged against the lip .21 of the double slide`- carrier 20, which stands at the left hand end of `its range of throw. Now by appropriato sequgincef of movements the plate-conveying parts of the machine work through a cycleas follows: First; douhleslide carrier 2() moves to the right. through passage-way 1li carrying plate l", which pushes plate ll-out of display space 1G and into. the front passage-way 14 until it alines, fore-and-aft, with roiiipartinent 11,

plate P2 replacing plate l in'display sparc 1G. Second; screws 2li olierate. carrying their load of plates rearwardly and bring the rear-most plate (say lm) into the path ot single slide carrier 3i-l'. rlhird: slide rarv .rier 23 moves from mimpartmcnt 11 to i'fompartiiient 12 carrying said plate 1m into delivery compartment l2' and into the range of operation of the screws 25', (while slide 225 for the other compartment moves idly to position, registering with conipart nient l1. l load 'of plates toi-ward, moving plate l into the front passage-'way .14 with its edge presented for engagement hy the lip 2l of the double slide carrier 20. flfit'tli: the dou` lile slide carrier 20 performs its return movement, carrying plate l to display space lll and thereby forcing plate l2 hack into alineinent with compartment 1l. conveyer screws 2G operate. carrying the plate pack in receiving compartment 11 hack and said plate PL' out of the front passage- Fourth: screwsl carry their Sixth z.

iop

wayll and presenting the rearinost plate `of the load `(say Im) in the path' of vslide cari'ier (which had been previously;

` while one plate is 'pushing the otherfrom -and soon.

exposed position). ,Thus there is no inaterial interval `of idleness in the .plate-disnplay sequence. )Vere the display space 16 1 made exactly the length offone 'plate the machine might be used'forshalf lof its full capacity, only one magazine :being filled initially.l Under such" circumstances, as will plainly bel apparent, the saine cycle of operation as heretofore* described would .result-in theplates being feld one at a time from the full magazine into the empty magazine, each' plate being exposed during a fullcycle instead of alialf cycle of 'machine operation. lll-Then, all of. thef plates were fed into the 'empty `magazine they would then commenc o be fed backiiito the magazine in which they were first contained,

.rk/ Y K Y lVhen the machine is built for use only f with the two magazines alternately supply- "ing plates, l prefer,- as a refinement of construction, to use a plate-centering' device to locate said plates 'accurately' vin the slideway 17. To this end the slide-way is made somewhat longer than-a plate, the upper and lower rails 1Sand 19 of said slide-way being longitudinally slotted and engaged by pins 28 on a vertical block 25), preferably of wood'or other suitable material which has a limited range of motion between theeiids of the slots. i This centering block 2S) should be of a width equal to 4half the ex,I

cess length of the bridge 17, and manifestly said block is always interposed between the approaching plate and the platebeing rcmoved from exposure, the positive limitation upon the range of movement of said block insuring that every plate is exactly centered inpthe exi'iosure 'space and may not be thrown past central position by its momentum.

In mechanical construction each magazin" may conveniently be formed of three vertical frame-plates, suitably interconnected,

- and indicated as a back plate 30, front plate- 31, and face plate or bearing 32. llates -30 and 31 may be connected by suitable top frame R andbottom wall sections, i3 and 3l, spaced apart a distance substantially equal the ,height of a display plate, and suitably sepai'ated lengthwise of the machine to receive thefconveyer S'ueavs for the corresponding compartment. 'llh top and bottom walls are vertically connected by the partition 13. The slide-way ,for'thedouble slide carrier -20 is providedby two` appropriately channeled strips 36 secured tothe rear surface of the front plate l1 as best shown in Fig. 2, the double slide carrier 2() itself being merely a rectangular frame work of metal, sliding in saidv way, carrying the lips 21 and 21 in position extending into the front passage-way, 1l-14 for the plates, and prefs erably having its lower rail provided with a rack V37, for a purpose to be described. A display plate or slide P, when moved into `,cope1'ation with the double slide carrier 2() merely rests fiat-wise against the rectangu lar frame ofthe carrier with the end of the plate engaged by the appropriate lip. As each coiiveye'r screw is given a complete rotation every time it is operated, all screws normally stand with their inter-thread spaces aliniiig transversely or from end'to end of the machine so that when a plate is moved edge-wise by the double slide carrier it passes across the bodies of all sere-ws in its patl'i, the tapered corners r of the plate guiding it neatly into the'interthread spaces.- The weight of the plate is carried by the screw bodies and thebottom .walls of the lcoiiipartment until it slips onto the lower rail 19 of the guide -way 17. The plate guide-way 17 is' in substance a continuation of the top and bottom walls of the reservoir arri ss the exposure space 1G, the rails 18' and 15) being iiitui'ned or ianged sufiiciently tia; hold the plate erect, fiat against the slide carrier 20. To prcv'ent a plate, when pushed into the passage way 151;, from being thrown too far, I provide a'oiic-way hitch 3S (Fig. 8) working through ainopeniiig i9 in .the top 4wall 2li-tof the magazine. i

"ll 'l' l`l ie sing e s i( c-caiiiei may comeniently bea Yflat plate ha vingits end bent to form lip 24, said plate slidingly guided iii two rails 40 mounted on posts-ll secured to the back plate 3() so that said rails are spared leave room for the mounting of gearing to be described, 'said plate 23 carrying on its rear Vface a rack 42.

r)Vith a view to simplicity, economy in construction, and coinpactness of the machine,'I have devised a special driving arrangement for cooperation with vthe organized parts heretofore described wherein all 'of the, essential movements in the cycle of operations' first described may be obtained from a series of identical cam-levers driven by studs on a main shaft.

apart somewhat from said plate to ln the construction shown, the base plate 43, on the rear portion of which the magazines are mounted.l carries suitable b -ackets 4l to receive the shating, said brackets secured to face plate 32 and toV the base 13. In order that the center portion of the machine may bc free from obstruction by lengthwise shutting four such brackets a're provided and themain shatt is divided into two sections, each about the length of a magazine, and interconnected for rotation in unison by spur gears 46 on said shafts meshing with pinions 46 on a jack .shaft 47 extending lengthwise of the machine near the base plate, out of the way of the lightproject-ing apparatus. One of said gears lllreceives power from a pinion 48 connected with a worin wheel operated by worin 4S which may conveniently be driven by a f small electric motor 4!) or any other-suitable source .of power. all pivotally mounted on the shaft 5t) at the front of the brackets and for the seven operating mechanisms described there are provided the seven similar cams numbered in the order ot their sequential operations 51,

(for operating the double slide carrier), 52 (for operating screws 26'), 53 (for operating single slide carrier 23'), 54 (for operating screws 25'), 5G-(for operatingr the screw conveyer 26-after the cam 5l has returned the double slide carrier), 57 (for operating the single slide carrier 23), and 5S (for operating the screws Each canilever, as shown in Fig. 2, com prises a lever arm ,GO extending forward below the main shaft 45 into proximity to the face plate 32 and a` cam-rim portion 61 encompassing the main shaft l5. This rim portion has its bearing face, defining the center'openig, struck on two arcs, which, vwhen the lever is in different positions of its oscillation about its pivotal axis 50, are respectively concentric with the shaft 45, the

upper and'low'ei arcuate,surfaces 62 and G3 "being connected -by clearance recesses (il, so

that the opening is somewhat of lemonl shape. The main shaft 45 carries within each said ain-rim a` stud G5 havingr a radial length equal to the radius on which the arcuate surfaces 62 and 63 are struck, so that ro- Itation ot the stud 65 within the cam-rim other dwell as it passes over, the arcuate surfacei; and arise as the stud rides back` .under the arc 62. Manifestly each cam le-.

ver, therefre,.niales every movement from one extreme to' the other rapidly, (preferably within 45 degrees of shaft-rotation) its np and down movements alternating andoccurring at time intervals of 18()o of rotation The cam levers are of the main shaft. The relative timin of the operation of the several cams, there ore, is merely a matter of the setting of studs 65 with respect to the mainl shaft. A proper setting for the machine herein shown is diagranimatically illustrated in Fig. 5, cams 52, 54, 56 and 58 doing their effective work on the lip-stroke; cams 58 and 57 doing their` work on the downstroke.

The rear end of each cam lever carries a pin 6G engaging a horizontal slot G7 in an ear 68 projecting from an appropriate vertical rack through a vertical slot provided therefor in the face plate 32, the seven racks corresponding with the cams being all appropriately guided in the space. between plates 31 and 32. Only the racks associated with magazine ,10 are shown, these being indicated by numerals 71, 76, 77 and 78, c0rresponding with the cam numerals 51,V 56, 57. and 58. Rack'l works through a ksuitable multiplying gear 79 to drive the rack 37 of the double slide carrier 20 back and forth to its full limit of throw, in obvious fashion.

Rack 77 for driving the single slide carrier 23 operates through a suitable multiplying gear 80 between `the plates 31 and 32 'tol drive a shaft S1, `which extends over the` 'lliere is ay one-ivay ratchet wheel S5 fixed on the spindle ot' screw 2G` cooperating with the pawl SG carried by said gear wheel 8 4, S'o that only on the upward movement of rack 7 6 is the screw (Qlirotatcd. the downward movement ottlie. rack merely causing gear- Sl to rotate idly without rotating the screw. For communie-ating motion to the two bot-- tdin screws ot the three. which shoulda'otate in unison, l uiount on the back plate a large gear S7 meshing with pinions 88' on the shafts ot' all three screws. said gear 87 also cooperating with a pawl S9 which prevents reverse rotation of said gear` Exactly similar provision is made toi".

driving the screws 25 from the rack 78; save that the directi'oirot rotation of the screws is reversed, as will be noted, Fig.`4.

It will be apparent with the construction describedl am' enabled to use short vertical racks, and byproper proportioning olv the reduction gear to secure therefrom rexactly the .desired range of movement o14 the respective plate handlingr parts,` at the same timekeeping the verticalfheight ofthe malll) chine within such small compass that the dcvice may be' installed in avery shallow space, such as a car roof space.

It will' beunderstood, of course,that sluit-i` able, light-.projecting apparatus of any de-r I sired construction may 'be associated with the plate-changer for projecting the picture displayedfinl the space 16 upon arsuitable screen, butxs'uch projection "apparatus maybeof any desired character and therefore is ynot shown. Its'condensing lenses would be in front of the bridge 147 its focusing lens in rear thereof;

While I have herein described in some detail 'a particularembodiment ot' my invention it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that many changes might be made in the specific construction without departure from the spirit of my invention and within the scope of the appended claims.

`What I claim is% l. Apparatus of the character described, comprising, in combination, two magazines separated by an intervening display struc-A I ture and automatic means for moving plates singly in opposite directions from either magazine into the same display structure.

2. Apparatus ofv the character described,

comprising, in combination,.two'magazines vfio separated by a single intervening display structure Iand automatic means for presentirig plates from said. -magazines alternately in said single display structure.

A3. Apparatus of the character"described,

comprising, in combinatiom'tvvo magazines separated by an intervening displayspace, and automaticmeans for presenting plates from said magazines alternately in ,the same .position in said display space in endless succession.

4. Inra machine ofthe character de'v scribed', the combination of two magazines,

vto

each divided into compartments, said magazines separated by a display space, and ineens for delivering plates singly-from a relatively remoter compartment, ,of either magazine, tothe display space, and, through the-delivered plate, pushing the previously displayed plate into a less remote compartment of the appropriate `magazine.

5. In a machine of the character described, the combination of two magazines, each divided intok two compartments, said magazines separated by a display space, and means `iior alternately delivering plates singly from the relatively reinoter compartnient, oi' said magazines to the display space, and, through the delivered plate, pushing the previously displayed plate into the' less remote rompartment of the appropriate iiiiwazine. p

(L In a machine/of the character described, the combination of two magazines separated by 'an intervening display space, each magazine divided into a pliiralityzo .l'oiiipartinents, means in connection with yments to the ydisplay space.

each magazine for feeding plates tl'iiough the compartments thereofl from a compartmentadjacent the display space to a coinscribed, the combination of two magazines separated byl a display space, each magazine divided intoefa plurality of compartments including a delivery compartment, means con.- nected with each magazine for kfeeding plates inappropriate directions fiat-wise through each said compartment and edge-wise from compartment to compartment, and means cooperating witli both magazines for transferring plates from their delivery compart- 8. In a machine of the character described, the combination of two magazines spaced apart,each divided into two coinpartinents, laterally communicating at their front andwrear ends, a guide-way bridging the space between said magazines and alining with thejiront passages between compertinents of said magazines, means for moving a plate from either outermost coinpartinent to said guideway, means for feed-- compartment -in appropriate direction, a slide carrier local to each magazine for feed "feeding the plates flat-wise through each,y

ing plates singly from one compartmenttov I the other, and a double slide-carrier common to the two magazines, coperating with the plate display slideway and arranged to de-i liver plates from either magazine intosaid slide-iway.

1l). In a device ofthe character described,

two magazines separated by a display space, a. plate guide spanning said display space, means tor delivering. plates from said magazines alternately to said plate guide, and a' 'centering stop inovably carried by said plate guide in the path of plate movement and having a limited range ot' ii'iovement iii saidr plate guide.

l1. In a device of the character described, two magazines separated by a display space, a plate guide spanning said display space, means for delivering plates from said magazines alternately to said plate guide and a centering strip interposed in the path of movement of the plate approaching said 12.'In a machine of -the character described, the combination, in a plate magazine, of a frame, a partition dividing said frame into two compartments, said two compartments being transversely open to each other beyond the-opposite ends of the partition, conveyer screws associated with each compartment for moving plates bodily flatwise in the compartment, a slide carrier working in a space beyond the partition for transferring plates from one compartment to the other, and operating means for said plate moving devices. y

13. In a machine of the character described, means providing a plurality of compartments, a plurality of plate moving means for conveying plates through said compartments and transferring them from one compartment to another, operateing devices for said plate moving means comprising a power shaft, a plurality of operating studs on said power shaft, and a like plurality of similar cam levers actuated by the studs and respectively connected with said several plate moving means.

let. In a machine of the character described, means providing a plurality of compartments, a plurality of plate moving means for conveying plates through said compartments and transferring them from one compartment ,to another, operating de vices for said plate-movmgymeans compi-1s- 1ng`dr1vmg racks, and driving means for said racks comprising a power shaft, a plu- 40.1

rality of operating, studs on said shaft, and a like plurality of cam-levers connected with said racks, said cam-1evers surrounding thepower shaftY and cooperating with studs thereon and each providing two arcuate suri ing horizontal racks for ther slide carriers,`

vertical racks to receive power, and gear connections between said vertical andhorizontal racks. f

16. In a machine of the character described, the combination of a` frame, plate 6.0

conveying screws for moving pla-tes iiat' wise in said frame, means for moving plates transversely across said screws and plates having their corners tapered for guidance in the inter-thread spaces of the screws.

.In testimony whereof I hereunto set my hand in the presence of two Witnesses.

THOMAS J. OWEN. In the presence of- GEO. rr. MAY, Jr," MARY F. ALLEN. 

